Q: What
will the governor’s contribution pay for?
A: The governor is committing start-up
funds for the administration of The Elizabeth
River
Restoration Trust. The purpose of the Trust will
be to receive funds for mitigation of
development impacts in the Elizabeth River
watershed. All funds will be spent in the
Elizabeth River watershed to implement a
Watershed Action Plan developed by The Elizabeth
River Project and adopted by the Commonwealth in
1996 in response to a directive from the
multiple-state Chesapeake Bay Program to reduce
toxics in Regions of Concern on the Chesapeake
Bay.
Q: What makes this a “better mitigation option”?
A: Before this fund, developers proposing
major projects in the Elizabeth River watershed
hadlimited options for achieving mitigation
projects within the watershed that were large
enough tooffset the impacts. No other mitigation
fund focuses primarily on the Elizabeth River
watershed, or on implementation of a long-term
action plan for the Elizabeth River.
Q: What are
some other advantages of the Trust Fund?
A: 1) For smaller projects, the Trust
will allow mitigation funds to be pieced
together to
achieve larger, more meaningful results than
might be the case when each small impact is
mitigated separately. 2) Some mitigation banks
are for-profit ventures. As a non-profit
operated in cooperation with The Elizabeth River
Project, the goal of the Trust will be to go
beyond the minimum required by mitigation laws
to achieve maximum improvements to the Elizabeth
River watershed.
Q: Will the
Trust accept any and all mitigation dollars
offered?
A: No. The Trust will reserve the right to
refuse mitigation funds when it judges the
impacts
of a project to be unacceptable, and/or the
level of funds insufficient to offset the
impacts.
Q: What are
the details of how the Trust will operate?
A: Details are currently being finalized by
The Elizabeth River Project, the US Army Corps
of Engineers and the Virginia Department of
Environmental Quality, in consultation with
other
federal and state agencies. An initial
Memorandum of Understanding is available.
Q: What is
the relationship between The Elizabeth River
Project and The Elizabeth River Restoration
Trust?
A: The Elizabeth River Project is setting up
the Trust, will appoint its Board of Directors
and
is likely to manage some of its major projects
by contract. However, The Elizabeth River
Restoration Trust will be an independent
organization with a diverse Board of Directors
and a
diverse Advisory Board. |
